Shanxi Brave Dragons shooting guard Jamaal Franklin during his NBA rookie photoshoot with the Memphis Grizzlies. (Photo : Getty Images)
Former NBA player Jamaal Franklin of the Shanxi Brave Dragons bagged his second straight CBA Player of the Week Award, his third time this season, after his team outlasted second-running Xinjiang Flying Tigers, 112-110, in a Round 35 matchup at the Riverside Sports Arena on Jan 29.
The 24-year-old two guard was all-around impressive in the game as he registered an almost triple-double stat line of 45 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists to lead the Brave Dragons to the gut-wrenching victory over a highly-touted opponent, as per Asia-basket. He also shot 62 percent (13-of-21) from the field.
It was the third time that Franklin had won the weekly citation this season, earning it for the first time during Round 29 when Shanxi beat the Jilin Northeast Tigers, 133-123, and again in the previous round as the Brave Dragons routed the Qingdao Eagles, 129-117. He had a stat line of 44 points, 10 rebounds, and 20 assists in the first one and recorded 30 points, 12 rebounds, and 18 assists last week.
Franklin is currently the CBA's fifth-leading scorer this season with 34.8 points per game and also averages 10.6 rebounds and 11.2 assists a night playing 40.8 minutes each contest, as per the FIBA website.
Shanxi remained in the ninth position of the league table, though, and with a few games left in the 2015-2016 CBA regular season, it is more likely that the team will miss this postseason despite the upset win.
Still, the game is a sign of things to come for head coach Hsu Chin-tse that they could rely on Franklin for top-level contributions on a consistent basis from here on.
The former San Diego State standout was a second-round 41st overall pick by the Memphis Grizzlies in the 2013 NBA Draft. However, he spent most of his rookie season playing with the NBA D-League squad Fort Wayne Mad Ants until he was released by Memphis in August of 2014.
Franklin's first CBA experience was in 2014 when he was signed by the Zhejiang Guangsha Lions in October of that year. He went back to the D-League in January of 2015.
Twelve months later, after stints with the Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles D-Fenders, Franklin was back in the CBA with the Brave Dragons.
The second-best performance of Round 35 was that of Franklin's fellow former NBAer, Jeremy Pargo, who led the Zhejiang Guangsha Lions over the Qingdao Eagles, 140-133. The ex-Philadelphia 76er pulled off a double-double of 36 points and 16 assists as the Lions cruised to the comfortable win.
